Christopher Garrens’ Let Them Eat Cake

Today, 12÷31÷13, is their last day open. That means for good. I am going to miss their scones, which in my humble opinion are the best I have ever tasted. Of the savory scones, the bacon cheddar chive is the absolute best. Of the sweet scones, its a toss up between the raspberry white chocolate and the lemon blueberry.
Au revoir, Chris.

I went to lunch at a restaurant close to his bakery. I was excited to go there for lunch because I watch cake decorating shows all the time and wanted to taste on of his cakes. When I walked in, I was surprised to see that Christopher was actually there behind the counter. I was also surprised at how incredibly rude he was to me and the customers in front of me. I almost walked out, but lucky for him, I REALLY wanted some cake. I split a mini Red Velvet cake with two friends. I wasn’t impressed. All I could taste was vinegar. Experience and food, both bad. Will NEVER go there again.

Great bakery with a solid selection of pastries… the Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookie was good, but the Chocolate Chip Shortbread was AMAZING! I had to go back to buy two :) They also have great coffee and lattes, although it is a bit pricey… but from the looks of this place that’s not surprising!
It’s located inside a large shopping plaza with lots of fancy furniture and kitchenware shops, and some of the nearby cafes seemed like those eco, organic, local, green places. Definitely very OC. The décor is fun and the cakes look layered and fancy, and with all those treats laid out in front of you, you can’t help but drool! The store seems really new, or maybe it is just impeccably clean!
And they have SCONES!!! but they don’t make them like England does… I will miss british scones forever.

Hit the beat, Lana. Raise your hands y’all and bounce — «I’ve got the summertime, summertime sadness…
It is yet summertime, and I am haunted by the fresh-​baked buttermilk biscuit with two eggs, cheddar, and sausage sandwich which has not only bewitched me but has branded itself semi-​permanently on my waistline. I see you!
Canorously beguiling me hither, the scent abolishes any previous convictions warning against it… my defeat and subjugation — inevitable.
The biscuit was incredibly executed and it buckled with each bite into the sausage and cheddar cheese. Christopher is infinitely fiendish.
Other seductive choices include:
Fresh baked buttermilk biscuit with two eggs, pepperjack or cheddar, and either Canadian bacon, sausage, or maple bacon.
The cinnamon roll is voluminous and appropriately moist, and chewy.
The shortbread cookies are solid.
The scones deliver on the traditional definition, and execute the marriage between a biscuit and a muffin. Soft and crumbly. Gentle yet unyielding.

We got our wedding cake there for a July 2010 wedding and it was delicious and beautiful. We got the mango and passion fruit flavor. Mango was sweet AND fresh. Passion fruit was tart AND fresh. Everyone loved it. We know because a lot of people asked for to-​go boxes to take home the remaining cake.
Fast forward 2 years and the same cake, minus the fondant, was simply disappointing. Fresh mango was replaced with dried fruit and the passion fruit lost its tart and tasted like jam.
So go there for the coffee and pastries. Oh, and go there for the cake if you only care whether it’s pretty or not.
P. S. my sentiments are backed by my coworkers who all went to my wedding and had the cake that was.

I simply LOVE the lemon blueberry scones, although the white chocolate raspberry and chocolate orange are good also, but that’s all that’s really worth while about this place (although I have to admit that I haven’t tried their cookies, but even if they were «to die for», I wouldn’t change my review for the following reasons).
Maple walnut scones a little on the sweet side and cranberry oats a little on the dry side.
Their lemon tart was standard also, I’ve had better.
I tried their lemon raspberry and mango passion sliced cake as well – not overly sweet but the cake itself was too damp tasting – like it wasn’t freshly made, so maybe they had it in the fridge for a while. The taste overall was nothing extraordinary – for a minimum cake order of $ 350, I expect extraordinary. I guess some people are content with paying that much for the design of the cake, which is impressive, but I prefer to spend a fortune on my cake and be able to eat it too.
They’re coffee bland (for me).
Employees slow with each transaction and wasn’t very knowledgeable with their menu.
I inquired and ordered a breakfast platter from Chris himself and he was VERY unfriendly, unapproachable, and snobby, with his attention always on something or somebody else, acting like he had something better to do. He didn’t even put down that I had paid my order in full and didn’t give me a copy of the order slip — good thing I still had my credit card receipt (from 3 weeks ago) to show as proof.
So the lemon blueberry scones is about all that I would with go to this place for. Everything else about this place is pretty «eh, I’d pass».

EDIT: Just got news that this place closed. Good. Chris and the chef there were a holes.
Just to be clear, the one star is for the café portion of Let Them Eat Cake and has nothing to do with Christopher’s actual cake business.
So I figured I would check out Christopher Garren’s Let Them Eat Cake after I recognized his name from the food network. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the staff. They looked like they really didn’t want to be there, and seemed frustrated with each other, I heard some arguing going on in the back. Not a very inviting atmosphere. The second thing I noticed was their high prices for their food. $ 12 for a sandwich and a side of lettuce. Nothing else. You would think for $ 12 you would get some sort of macaroni salad or even some chips and a drink, nope. Just a sandwich and some lettuce on the side. But I figured since Chris had his well known name on the door, these sandwiches would be worth the extra money.
I decided to go with the ham and cheese. In my head I was imagining a huge $ 12 sandwich loaded with ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato taken to a level only a well known chef could do. Something creative. Boy was I wrong. What I got was a regular ham and cheese that contained some regular ham, some regular cheddar cheese and a bit of mustard between two pieces of regular bread. No extra kick, no special twist, no zing, nothing. And it tasted just like a regular boring ham and cheese sandwich. Certainly not worth $ 12.
I assume, being that the food was so plain and boring, that Chris isn’t the chef there. At least I hope he isn’t because I know the man has talent as far as cakes go. It is clear, however, that whoever the chef is at Let Them Eat Cake is not a caliber of chef that should be making food at an establishment that charges so much for their food. Especially when the café has the name of a well known chef on the door.
I left feeling disappointed with the whole experience. I will not be returning.

Finding a non-​chain coffee place in the Costa Mesa area is not the easiest thing to do. I frequent the SoCo farmers market monthly and usually grab a cuppa. I have tried The coffee at Portola Coffee Lab but enjoy the offerings at this café much more. The cakes are the most eye-​catching cakes I’ve seen, the baked goods are so enticing, and the décor is so elegant.
I gave this 4 stars because while the coffee is better (imo) at C. Garrens, it isn’t mind blowing. That, however, is reserved for the cinnamon roll. OMG. So buttery and sweet. Big enough to share. But it’s pricey.

It’s a bit pricey here, but for the portion size and flavor, you’ll get your money’s worth. If you can spend $ 4 on a drink at Starbuck’s, then you shouldn’t complain about Christopher Garrens. Be careful not to go overboard. When you first come in, you’ll be tempted to try all the different scones and cookies. But the shelf life is short, so dont get more than what you can eat that day or next. The baked goods (especially he muffins) become dry after a day or so.
The variety here is unique. How many places offer chorizo scones and lavender cookies? On the sweet side, I didn’t care for the muffins or cinnamon rolls. I do love their scones though. My favorite flavors are blueberry lemon, raspberry white chocolate, and bacon cheddar. The short bread cookies are also to-​die for.
On the savory side, the breakfast bun is a must! A large swirly bread of cheese, bacon, and herbs. It tastes like a pizza. The biscuit breakfast sandwiches are also very good. Very southern – and by that, I mean, made with lots of butter.

DIABETICS BEWARE.
Now that it’s out of the way, I’d like to just say that I was very impressed with their gorgeous cakes. Unfortunately I did not eat any of their cake, but rather tried their cookies. The cookies were delicious, actually tasting like whatever it said it would be (chocolate decadence) but unfortunately gave me the most massive sugar headache I’ve ever experienced.
I’ll definitely be back here, but next time i’ll be sure to eat less cookies per hour.

I came here to meet up with 3 of my friends for lunch on a Wednesday. First of all, I couldn’t find this place! The google map says it’s located on the right side of Hyland, but it’s actually on the left side (if you’re coming in from South Coast Drive), and closer to Sunflower. This is actually the backside of the restaurant. I ended up parking there and walked through the area between the restaurant and one of the furniture stores to get to the front.
Another way is to make a first left into the furniture mall from Hyland (coming in from South Coast Drive) and follow the parking lot on the right until you see an open area with tables and chairs (and I think a fountain that may or may not be working). The restaurant is kind of hidden inside that area.
The restaurant is small, and has a Corner Bakery-​esque feel with an added French twist. Only a few items on the lunch menu are set, and the rest change every day. I ordered a chicken panini (set menu item, I think) and tomato soup (special for the day) to share with one of my friends (the other two did the same as well). If I remember correctly, it was about $ 21 total for the panini, bowl (not cup) of soup, and one iced green tea drink for me (my friend just got water). We then got a number and waited for our food at the table (just like at Corner Bakery). All the tables that we saw inside were only 2-​seaters, so we squeezed in 2 more chairs at one table. It was pretty tight, especially when all the food and drinks came.
The food was good, although I kept thinking, «Corner Bakery»… We ended our luncheon with a slice of their 4-​layer limoncello cake. I think it was around $ 6.95 or $ 7.95 per slice! Pretty yummy, but my wallet can’t afford it all the time (the round mini cakes were $ 7.95 or $ 8.95 each).
I also tried two of their scones — garlic herb garden and sundried tomato, and bacon, chive and cheddar cheese ($ 3.95 each I think). I wasn’t crazy about the garlic one, and the bacon one was just okay. They were very cake-​like so I bet the sweet ones taste better.

I had the opportunity to come here again today… because I won a FREE lunch from Christopher Garren’s restaurant. They offer a weekly drawing — to win a free lunch, and I actually won back in February!
I redeemed a chicken panini entrée as my free lunch. It comes with a side of arugala salad, nicely tossed with some onions & fresh tangy dressing. I enjoyed my panini — wish it had a bit more chicken meat in there though. :)
My husband purchased the spicy grilled cheese w/​tomato soup. He enjoyed the spicy kick to the grilled cheese pressed sandwich… and the tomato soup was smooth and a bit salty.
I also followed up our meal with an order of the green tea mini cake. Just couldn’t get myself to leave the place without trying one of their pastries/​cakes this time.
The green tea cake was surprisingly light, with layers of raspberry cream, mango cream, and green sponge cake. It wasn’t too sweet or overpowering in any way, so we really enjoyed the dessert to end our meal.
There was seating outdoors (they brought the food to you), but just remember to bring your dishes back inside the restaurant. Overall, it was a nice place to hang out on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon — enjoyed people watching, a free lunch, and a sweet treat.

Three mini cookies for $ 2.50!
Had this place bookmarked after Maggie C reviewed it cuz i am always on the hunt for good chocolate chip cookies. I got their ultimate chocolate chip cookies and chocolate decadence. I agree with her that the decadence was the better one. Although I liked the cookies, they were a bit on the harder side. My fave is still from Max Brenner.
I also got a passion fruit and mango cake. For $ 8.50 I was hoping it was mind blasting but sadly it was only good and very pretty.
I do hear their sandwiches are pretty tasty so next time I make it out to the OC mix, I’ll give them a try.

This place would be excellent if their staff were a bit sharper. Every time I go in there I have to repeat my order several times to the cashier and then repeat it again for the person making my drink. There’s always a long wait for drinks and there’s no good place to wait, so it’s awkward and crowded. Not sure why, but it seems to take forver.
Now, their scones are to die for. I haven’t had better in the U.S. and highly recommend them. However, last weekend I wanted to try a breakfast sandwich and was in line several minutes before the cut-​off time… However, they took forever with the people in front of me and at 11:03 they told me rather condescendingly that they weren’t serving them anymore. Nice! They wouldn’t serve a pregnant lady 3 minutes after the cut-​off time because they took forever ringing everyone in front of her up (see examples of their sharpness above).
I doubt I’d come back here just for the scones… their drinks were okay, but not worth the long line. I certainly would avoid if you like pleasant customer service because you won’t get it here.

Looking for a great breakfast place? You can either eat there or take it outside and sit in the patio area. As you walk in you will notice the cute displays, all the pastries. Must try items:
1) home made biscuit sandwich with sausage!!! The biscuits are huge! Sausage has great flavors.
2) scones — peppers, chorizo sausage (don’t worry guys, this is not dry) great after taste

The good:
Mini red velvet cake:
-++ From the presentation till the taste. It was almost perfection. The cake is beautifully presented with a double coloring (pink/​white) printed lace rose pattern on the white chocolate. It’s topped with pink fondant with a plum flavor.
The double color pattern looks very messy on the white chocolate. The pattern could be more subtle to makes it looks simple and elegant.
The cake layers were moist and the mascarpone/​cream cheese filling were lightly sweetened. The white chocolate layer is overly sweetened and the fondant topping is actually not as sweet as I expected.
It’s a moist cake with tasty chunky filling and a overly sweetened outer layer.
The mini cake is good for two person.
The cons:
The store looks beautiful, however it’s very small inside. The book shelve, the tables and CG’s gigantic cake design makes the café looks very small.
The cappuccino that I ordered with the cake comes in a take out paper cup. It felt like dancing tango with a pair of Reeboks. It almost destroyed my cake mood.
We will definitely come back for the other cakes and I will highly recommend this place to my Unilocalers.

This review is just for our wedding cake.
After seeing Christopher Garren’s Let Them Eat Cake on WETV’s Amazing Wedding Cakes show, I had to have them make our wedding cake. They were very patient and professional throughout the cake consultation and the email correspondence of the cake drawing afterwards. Because I was such a fan of the show, I relished every moment of it.
They incorporated our wedding elements into the cake beautifully. The end result was beyond our dream cake with different tiers to represent the specific elements we wanted. The details on our cake were phenomenal. We had the flavors chocolate raspberry truffle and mocha latte fudge. The cake was exquisite: not just the appearance, but the taste too. It was a bit on the higher end of cakes; to me, it was all worth it! The cake was truly the centerpiece of our wedding. I’m an even bigger fan after (if that’s possible). Here’s a photo of our cake:
I was also really happy with the complimentary one year anniversary cake. Instead of preserving our wedding cake in the freezer, we got a beautifully decorated fresh cake to enjoy, big enough to serve about 10 people!
P. S. I had no idea this bakery serves breakfast and lunch. Need to check them out for myself!

This place is so beautiful and yummylicious!
We went shopping @ SCP and decided to have an early lunch. Ordered steak frites, curry chicken paini and apple&brie sandwich.
Steak frites ($ 12.95): My favorite sandwich from all 3. Thinly Sliced Rib-​eye marinated with smokey red salt & fresh citrus on a toasted Baguette, crispy ribbon fries, gorgonzola cream, served with a vegetable chow chow. The steak is perfectly cooked and super thin crispy fries adds the perfect crunch to this sandwich. 5 stars!
Curry chicken panini ($ 11.95?): the curry is more Indian than South-​East Asian curry. It was kinda good but I wouldn’t get it again. 3.5 stars!
Apple and brie sandwich ($ 10.95): apple and brie on a toasted baguette with balsamic syrup, served with garden salad. You can’t go wrong with apple and brie. 4 stars!
I picked up some treats for snacks @ home: ultimate chocolate chip cookie, chocolate decadence cookie, apple lavender oatmeal cookie ($.85 or 3 for $ 2.50), chocolate cupcake and bacon cheddar chives scone ($ 1.85).
The chocolate decadence cookie is my favorite. I can tell that they use good quality chocolate; I hate cheap tasting chocolate. Apple lavender oatmeal cookie tastes just like oatmeal cookie… what happens to the lavender taste or scent? I am not impressed with its ultimate chocolate chip cookie. The bacon cheddar chives scone is not bad. I don’t care for its chocolate cupcake at all.
I want to come back for breakfast, and this gorgy looking chocolate cake. The bakery has croissants, muffins, cinnamon rolls, fancy biscottis and brownies too.
Service is friendly but very slow. We got a little frustrated waiting for the food. You can enjoy your meal while watching TV or browsing its cake photo albums. This pastry chef really knows how to bake beautiful cakes. Very impressive.
4 stars!
Christopher Garrens’s Let Them Eat Cake is yummylicious!

For a bakery, food was not only delicious but it was presented beautifully. The menu is small but in any restaurant, all you need is a few great items. This is one of those places. A bakery with not only delicious desserts but awesome food. Who would’ve thunk.
I had the prime rib salad and the flavors kept bursting in my mouth. The roasted beets, caramelized onions, grilled cherry tomatoes and watercress added so much dimension. The prime ribs were cooked perfectly; medium rare and juicy. The green tea cake with raspberry and peach filling was amazing. It looked like it might be overly sweet and heavy, but not the case whatsoever. The cake had the perfect amount of sweetness and the fresh fruits made it refreshing. I always get 2 types of scones whenever I am here; garlic herb and jalapeños scones. It’s so savory and addictive. New favorite lunch spot. Coworkers had the shrimp Caesar salad, steak frites sandwich and chicken panini. All of those dishes looked just as good. Next time I will try the shrimp Caesar salad.

Good cinnamon rolls. When they first opened, they’d feature their goodies at the SoCo’s farmer’s market, but not anymore.
The cookies and other pastries are huge. Thankfully, they serve mini scones and cookies now. The lavender cookie is especially delicious.
I haven’t tried their coffee and other food though since Portola is close by.
Do get the cinnamon rolls. I’ve tried them everywhere and this one is gooey and yummy whether it’s cold or warm. Ask for it warmed up; they’ll do it. Get it.